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Steam Daikon Cake

A steamed daikon cake with a savory filling of Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓

Steam Daikon Cake

Timeabout 40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the daikon base

  1. Remove the daikon skin and shred it into fine pieces. Place the shredded daikon, the chicken broth, and the cake base seasonings into a pot. Cook until the daikon softens (about 40 minutes). If the daikon tastes bitter, add more sugar. If the daikon releases too much water, drain some water out.

  2. Dice the filling ingredients. Stir-fry the filling ingredients and seasonings until cooked. Save half the scallion for later use. Set the fillings aside.

  3. When the daikon softens, slowly stir in the rice flour. Mix well until the batter thickens. Stir in the fillings, reserving some for topping.

Steam and serve

  1. Grease the steaming pan with corn oil to prevent sticking. Pour the mixture into the pan and top with the remaining scallion and fillings. Steam under high heat for about 40 minutes. To check doneness, insert a chopstick into the center; if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

  2. Let the daikon cake cool. Slice and pan-fry the cake before serving if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1323Calories
104 gProtein
24 gFat
160 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Shrimp100g cooked99
Sesame Seed1 tbsp (9g)52
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Cakenot in our table0
Daikonnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  2. Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,769 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  3. Rice + mushroomtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,515 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  4. Chicken + shrimptop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together988 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Rice + shrimptop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,055 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Daikon
Becomes the tender, moist body of the cake as it softens and releases its water.
Rice flour
Thickens the cooked daikon into a batter that sets firm when steamed.
Chicken broth
Cooks the daikon and adds savory flavour throughout the cake.
Chinese sausage
Adds fat and savoury, rich flavour to the filling.
Chinese dried shrimp
Adds concentrated savoury, umami flavour to the filling.

The step that matters

Thickening the batter before steaming. Rice flour must be stirred in slowly into the hot, softened daikon so it hydrates evenly and thickens without lumps. Starch gelatinises as it heats, and this sets the cake's firm texture once steamed.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, flour, chicken, sugar, shrimp, mushroom, sauce):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, flour, chicken, sugar, shrimp, mushroom, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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